Dem
47
GOP
53
Although Sen. Amy Klobuchar (DFL-MN) is the #3 Democrat in the Party leadership, she doesn't think it is worth being in the Senate anymore. She has now filed the paperwork to run for governor of Minnesota. She is not up in 2026. Since Minnesota does not have a "resign-to-run" law, she will remain in the Senate all year. If she wins, she can delay resigning until after she is sworn in next January, in which case she can appoint her replacement. If she loses, she just continues being a senator until her current term runs out, or runs for reelection in 2030.
Her candidacy wasn't in the cards at all last year until Gov. Tim Walz (DFL-MN) unexpectedly decided not to run for reelection. His decision came after a welfare fraud scandal in Minnesota got renewed attention recently. He wasn't involved in it, but it happened on his watch.
With Minneapolis so much in the news now, Klobuchar is going to have to answer many questions about how she would have done things differently than Walz and what she is going to do to clean up welfare fraud. Her statements about ICE and her vote on removing DHS funding will be inspected with a microscope. On the other hand, Minnesota is a pretty blue state, so she is already the odds-on favorite, no matter whom the Republicans nominate. (V)